Following a meeting I attended today, here is a quick report I have written for the CliffCare blog on the current known situation. Either Kieran or myself will keep updating on progress here as it occurs and when we will need your help. Simon Weill has reported on Vertical Life and you can get regular updates by visiting www.cliffcare.org.au So lots of options to keep informed. Great and productive meeting today - thanks all!

The Victoria Valley complex fire fire burnt long and hard, from the 14th of February and was declared officially under control on the 6th March. 20 days of unrelenting fire. Speaking yesterday to someone who was fighting the fire, they noted that it was the most fierce they have ever dealt with. Fingers have been crossed for the best outcome for the myriad of cliffs and climbing areas that dot the Victoria Range.

A meeting was held today between a number of climbing community representatives and Parks Victoria Grampians rangers. Steve Monks, Malcolm Matheson, Simon Weill, Earl from Hanging Out and myself, Tracey Skinner met with Ranger in Charge Dave Roberts, Zoe Wilkinson and Claire Evans from PV to discuss the outcomes of the Victoria Valley complex fire, the issues that we are faced with and how we can move forward. It is still very early days yet in regards to assessing the areas so the following information is based only on what has been gathered so far and this can be open to change as more information comes to hand. What I can say is that PV staff are really keen to open as much as they can, as soon as possible.

From aerial photographs that were taken of some of the areas last week, it appears that The Gallery, Red Rocks,Millenium Caves and Muline have been moderately burnt whilst Eureka Wall, Lost World and Red Sail areas have been severely burnt. Fortress and Chimney Pots area again look to have been moderately burnt and patchy in areas. There are other areas obviously and as time goes on, more information on these will come to light. There is currently a Rapid Assessment team in place who will be reporting back shortly.

At this stage, the Victoria Range will remain temporarily closed for at least 4  6 weeks. Priority for reopening will be for those areas that have been impacted the least which from our early discussions points to The Gallery, Red Rocks, Millenium Caves and Muline. The campground at Buandik has been hardly touched by the fire but the pedestrian bridge that connects climbers to the Gallery is now gone. Keep in mind that as yet, no on site assessments have been made.One of the main concerns with reopenings will be a number of the roads that are needed to access the areas. Red Rock Road, Harrops Track and Syphon Road have all been badly damaged and these will all need to be repaired before access can happen. This can be a lengthy process and will come down to funding but these roads are a priority and Parks staff have them high on the agenda.

As noted Eureka Wall, Tower, Red Sail and Lost World area look to have been severely impacted so closures to these areas will more than likely be in place for a lot longer.
There are a variety of issues which can affect and delay reopenings and need to be assessed - such as soil stability - lets hope the rains dont come in one fell swoop when they do.
Over the next few weeks, more information will come to hand and I will also be letting the climbing community know how they can help. We will be looking at recruiting some volunteers to help with onsite assessments of the climbing areas.

Please respect all park closures and know that we will be all working as hard as we can to work together to get some areas opened and back to climbing status.

For those hoping for an Easter Vic Range jaunt  best to plan elsewhere. Rosea and Bundaleer will be open. Redmans road is open which means the Barbican cliff areas are accessible. Campgrounds such as Boreang, Borough, Smiths will be operational. Strachans unfortunately has been completely razed to the ground. And of course Northern Grampians is still accessible with a good selection of climbing areas and campgrounds. Stay tuned for more updates.

Huge thanks to the climbing reps who took part and for the Grampians PV staff who have been hot off the mark and set up this meeting so we can hit the ground running.

are there any news concerning the closure/reopening of the burnt areas? I would be especially interested in the impact of the fire on the recently established bouldering areas around the Gallery and whether or not it will be possible to climb at the Gallery/Muline/Millenium Caves in June/July/August.

On 4/05/2013 dk wrote:>Hi all,>>are there any news concerning the closure/reopening of the burnt areas?>I would be especially interested in the impact of the fire on the recently>established bouldering areas around the Gallery and whether or not it will>be possible to climb at the Gallery/Muline/Millenium Caves in June/July/August.>>Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I will be uploading some information shortly on this. There is a good chance that access to Muline, Red Rocks area will be established soon so June could be a real possibility. The Gallery has a few other issues but again, hopefully this will be sooner rather than later. Cliffs accessed along the Camp of the Emu Foot Track will be out of action for a bit longer. The fire burnt really hot here and there is not much left. Important to get some ground coverage back. Few pics below give you an idea. Stay tuned for more infor soon.

All of these are along the Camp of the Emu Foot Track

This is one section of the walk up to Muline. The walk in to access Muline has been burnt quite patchy. Some bits are ok. The gully itself is the worst and quite burnt. The cliff itself is untouched. We are looking at diverting the track away from the gully at a certain point so that it goes up and across rocky ground. Malcolm said that this is where the original track used to go but over time people started creating a track by walking most of the way up the gully itself.

I am looking for a few volunteers who know the cliffs around the Muline Red Rocks area. We will be doing some track marking and clearing on the 15/16th June. I already have a few but would appreciate a few more so we can get most of the cliffs in the area marked and ready for opening. I don't expect this to be all day work . The Saturday or Sunday option is yet to be decided but will go with general consensus amongst the volunteers.
Drop me a line cliffcare@vicclimb.org.au

The Glenelg River Rd, Redhill Rd and Jensens Rd have been reopened but will be rough and slippery in places particularly after rain, Drivers are urged to take care if travelling in these areas.

The following roads are still closed due to fire damge incurred during the recent bushfires in Victoria Valley and Victoria Range: Boundary Rd, Bullawin Rd, Harrop's Trk, Billywing Rd,Redrock Rd,Goat Trk, Victoria Range Rd, Matthews Trk and Syphon Rd.
It is unknown how long these roads will be closed for.

The open roads within the park are becoming corrugated in some areas, a four wheel drive is recommended for travelling on unsealed roads around the park.

Redman and Mitchell roads have been reopened and Picnic Ground road has been reopened to Mitchell road but is still closed up to Kalymna Picnic Ground.

The Mt Zero Rd is becoming very dusty and corrugated in places please slow down and take care along this road.

Most of the seasonally closed 4wd tracks have been opened, The tracks that are still closed are under reconstruction and will be opened as the works are completed.
Mafeking Rd is open to Mafeking picnic ground..
Henham Track between Glenelg River Rd and Serra Rd is still closed due to severe flood damage.
Lodge Rd and the Southern end of Asses Ears Rd have now been patched and graded, These areas may be slippery after rain.
There has been some road works undertaken on Glenelg River Rd near Boreang campground, the road may be slippery after rain.
Some road patching and grading has been carried out on Mt Stapylton Campground Rd, the road may be slippery after rain.

At this stage, all still closed. I had organized a work day to do some track marking and clearing on the Muline/Red rocks area a couple of weeks ago in preparation for that area opening but unfortunately didn't get enough volunteers so had to cancel. Looking to tee one up in a couple of weeks if all goes well and hoping - hoping being the operative word here, we can get it opened not too long after.Muline and surrounding area is in best position to be opened first. Buandik area is going to be a bit further down the track for a variety of reasons - many of them relating to the fact that that area is used extensively by many usergroups. Road repairs are also a large part of these areas not being able to be accessed yet. Think months for Buandik.

Some reopening indications were given to me and this is very weather dependant due to the work that PV need to carry out but in a nutshell here are some estimations. PLEASE NOTE: Estimations.

Victoria Range access update and workday volunteer request. Sunday 4th August. Please read the Access report linked above for full detailsWe also need to get in there and do some track marking. Third time lucky. please drop me a line. cliffcare@vicclimb.org.au Volunteers are very slim at this point in time.

Muline, Red Rocks area  start of August
Gallery/Buandik area  start of August
The Fortress. Chimney Pots  end August
Camp of Emu Foot Track area cliffs  minimum 1 year.

Stu's Express Shuttle Service For Cragless Fire-affected Sydneysiders will be running daily connections from Central Station to Buandik Campground and all the quality crags of the Vic Ranges.

The Friday Night Special leaves at 6.30pm and will have you at the walkin cairn of Muline by 9am saturday morning. Sunday night return service leaves at 5pm sharp and does not wait for anybody having descent debacles/benightment/other epics.

"The Parks Victoria staff will work towards grading Red Rock Road and Matthews Track late next week. Once these works have been completed staff will reopen the two roads."

On a related issue, I've heard of people climbing at Weir's Creek recently. The area, and everything else on the Emu's Foot Track, including Eureka Wall and Lost World, is closed because of the fire damage. The soil is very fragile and subject to erosion so please stop going in there.